Apollo, an alternative investment manager, offered to acquire Tronox, a firm that mines, manufactures and sells titanium dioxide mineral sands and soda ash, for $4.3bn. Apollo has offered $27 per share to buy Tronox. Tronox makes titanium dioxide pigment and other chemicals used to add brightness and durability to paints, plastics and paper. The Covid-19 pandemic weighed on demand for many of Tronox’s products, but the company has said its core markets are recovering as the world’s major economies bounce back.